Chapter 16 - Chapter 16: Talking with the Big Shots

🛡️ This is the Way.

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║ ⚔️ MANDALORIAN CONTRACT BOARD ⚔️ ║

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║ Objective: Launch the story into hyperspace ║

║ Reward: Extra chapters for the crew ║

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║ Review Bounties: ║

║ • ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ = +1 bonus chapter ║

║ • ⭐⭐⭐⭐ + ⭐⭐⭐⭐ = +1 bonus chapter ║

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║ 2–3 lines is enough: ║

║ • "I loved ___ because…" ║

║ • "Best scene so far was…" ║

║ • "My theory is…" ║

╠════════════════════════════════════════════╣

║ Thank you for backing Max Vizsla and the ║

║ rise of Mandalore. ║

╚════════════════════════════════════════════╝

This is the Way.

"Bo-Katan Kryze—deputy commander. Long time." Max kept his tone light. "Still saving the galaxy with that face?"

"I haven't even taken my helmet off yet." In the holo, Bo-Katan lifted her Nite Owl helmet free and rolled her eyes. "Long time no see, Max. What do you want?"

"A helmet doesn't do much against your attitude." Max tried to sound slick, failed, and grinned anyway. "I need to speak with Vizsla. Patch me through?"

"Hold." She glanced off-screen. "I'll ask first."

A moment later, the holo switched to a man with a hard, square face—like it had been cut out of stone and never apologized for it.

"Vizsla." Max gave a small nod.

"Ma—" Pre Vizsla paused, then corrected himself. "Max. You're not dead. So you ran. Where to? And now you're calling because you want to crawl back and surrender?"

"Don't waste the breath." Max's voice stayed flat. "And don't bother trying to tag my location—I'm in hyperspace. Tracking's pointless. So… did your grand plan to unify Concordia pan out?"

"Hmph." Pre Vizsla crossed his arms, nostrils flaring. "Even you got beaten into running. On a little backwater like Concordia, who could possibly stop Death Watch?"

"You burning credits, Vizsla?"

Pre Vizsla's brow tightened. "What are you talking about?"

"Concordia's been flattened. Rebuilding it? You wouldn't understand, and you wouldn't do it." Max didn't slow down. "Next step is Mandalore (Nav chart: O-7), right? Unification costs money. You're bleeding funds."

Pre Vizsla stared, silent.

Max continued, "I've got a job that pays extremely well. A big-name wants another big-name erased. The fee's huge. You want it?"

Pre Vizsla barked a laugh. "Let me get this straight—you can't even keep yourself safe, and you're offering me a money-maker?"

Max ignored the jab. "You taking it or not?"

"Hmph. You won't kill, but you'll have my people kill—how is that any different? You're still as hypocritical as ever."

"Spare me the lecture." Max's gaze didn't shift. "Are you taking it?"

Pre Vizsla's mouth curled. "Of course I'll take it—why wouldn't I—"

"As long as you're willing." Max cut him off with a casual wave. "Go home. Wait for instructions."

"You—"

Max ended the hyperspace call.

...

Galactic Standard Year 4 (31 BBY), January 1. New Year's Day.

Max led his convoy out of hyperspace near Cato Neimoidia (Nav chart: N-11).

The convoy consisted of Cloud City freighters returning from Geonosis, with close escort provided by the Mandalorian Armed Forces Navy's Shriek Hawk Squadron, plus a Kom'rk-class Mark I starfighter/transport that had departed Cloud City carrying Max, two Mandalorian commando troopers, and ten newly recruited Intelligence Bureau agents.

The Cloud City transport convoy had departed Geonosis on Galactic Standard Year 3, December 12. It traveled along the Corellian route and reached Coronet City—Corellia's capital—on December 23. Max's Kom'rk left Cloud City on December 14, traveled via the Corellian Trade Spine, and reached Coronet City on December 24, where it linked up with the transport convoy.

After five days in Coronet City handling a stack of arrangements, the newly formed mixed-task convoy lifted off on December 29. Once clear of the gravity well, it jumped to hyperspace, heading for the Trade Federation's headquarters on Cato Neimoidia.

Not long after dropping out of hyperspace, a dark swarm of Vulture-class droid starfighters closed in on the convoy. Behind them, a colossal ship over three kilometers in diameter—a Lucrehulk-class battleship—trained its guns on the formation and began broadcasting on the public channel:

"Unidentified convoy, you have entered the vicinity of Cato Neimoidia. State your identity and intentions immediately, or withdraw at once."

"Greetings. This convoy belongs to the Corellian Fieg Consortium. We departed from Corellia, currently running empty, and are bound for Cato Neimoidia to purchase supplies. Our escort is provided by the Corellian Beskar Steel Security Company's starfighters. We are now transmitting our permits and identification codes for your verification—please receive and confirm."

At the same time, Max dialed a temporary contact address.

"Esteemed Viceroy Nute Gunray, this is Skye Cloud, founder of the Corellian Beskar Steel Security Company. I have arrived at Cato Neimoidia, and I look forward to meeting with you shortly."

...

"Twenty thousand tons of bacta solution, five hundred bacta canisters, five hundred FX-7 medical droids, five hundred 2-1B medical droids…" Holding the procurement list, Nute Gunray couldn't help asking, "Mr. Cloud… are you buying an entire medical center?"

"Exactly." Max nodded. "The tibanna operation Lord Fieg and I invested in is remote and hard to reach. Mining—especially gas mining—is high-risk work. If an accident happens, there won't be time to move patients to a proper hospital. So we have no choice but to build a mine hospital ourselves."

"You also bought into the mine?"

"That's right. Equity through 'technical contribution'—which, in practice, means force contribution." Max's tone stayed matter-of-fact. "I stationed a fleet on the small planet where the mine is located, to keep pirates and other hostile actors away."

"Oh? Your company's capabilities are truly impressive."

"Oh, it's a small business, really. You flatter me." Max waved it off. "In front of the Trade Federation, Beskar Steel Security is just a tiny guard team."

"With strength like that, I'm reassured—then you should have no trouble completing the task I'm commissioning."

As he spoke, Gunray's eyes gleamed. Even without using the Force, Max could feel thick resentment and old hatred rolling off the Neimoidian in waves.

"I want to commission—"

"Viceroy Gunray." Max abruptly stood, then bowed in a stiff, perfectly square ninety-degree angle. "My deepest apologies. Beskar Steel Security cannot accept your commission."

"Uh…" Gunray choked on the interruption. After a beat, he frowned. "But I haven't even said what the job is. Why refuse in advance?"

"Please don't say it aloud." Max straightened. "I have a rough idea what you intend to commission—I simply don't know who your exact target is."

"Oh?"

"Viceroy, you must know that some beings in this galaxy possess certain gifts—foreseeing the future, for example." Max's eyes stayed calm. "People like me. My talent is modest, but I can still perceive fragments of a blurry future. Your job is not one we can take. We are a professional security company—we accept contracts that protect targets, not contracts that eliminate them."

"So you think assassination work is too dirty?" Gunray's tone cooled. "A business exists to make money. The credits you earn don't become dirty. And what I pay is clean Republic credit—recognized by the InterGalactic Banking Clan, spendable anywhere in the galaxy."

"That's not what I mean, Viceroy. This is purely a matter of professional scope—assassination simply isn't part of our business." Max didn't flinch. "Planetary defense, convoy escort, personal protection—we do all of that. But if one branch of our company accepts a contract to protect Mr. A, and another branch takes a contract to kill Mr. A at the same time, what then? How do we resolve the conflict?"

"To ensure our core business—security—runs in an orderly way, we refuse any business that could conflict with it. That's our standing policy. This is absolutely not aimed at you."

"But," Max raised a finger for emphasis, "turning down a major client like you weighs on us. So we've prepared a compensation package at the highest level of sincerity, as a gesture of apology. I hope you'll accept it."

"Mr. Cloud, you're too polite. You've done nothing wrong—why talk about compensation?"

"No, no—this is what we should do. Please don't refuse." Max turned and gestured behind him. "Manager Wynn, bring up the holo."

"Yes, Chief Executive."

"Galaxy Supreme Personal Security Package—protection surpassing even what the Republic assigns its Supreme Chancellor. Layered coverage. Dedicated response. No gaps…"

To be fair, Corellian ad agencies were extremely competent. In barely ten days, they'd produced a film-grade corporate promo—so effective that even the well-traveled Viceroy Gunray watched, transfixed.

"Viceroy, we will provide one year of the Galaxy Supreme Personal Security Package to you free of charge." Max's voice stayed smooth. "This time I brought our ten best people—the strongest operational team Beskar Steel Security has. With them at your side, even if the Jedi Temple wanted you gone, they'd have a very hard time making it happen."

"Ah… this…"

"Please don't decline. You're our major client. This is what we should do." Max made the call with a decisive wave. "It's settled. Wynn, Raine—you two step out. The Viceroy and I have important matters to discuss."

"You as well—withdraw." Gunray flicked his hand, dismissing his attendants.

"Viceroy, regarding your commission, I can recommend a specialist team—one of the most professional in the entire galaxy."

"Oh?"

"You may know that during the previous Mandalorian civil war, the militant Mandalorians were exiled to Concordia."

"I've heard of it."

"After reaching Concordia, the militants fractured into factions and slaughtered each other endlessly. Later, the strongest faction wiped out the rest and unified Concordia." Max's eyes didn't change. "That faction is the team I'm recommending—Death Watch. I have ties to their supreme leader. And with your financial power shaking the galaxy, they will absolutely take your commission seriously."

"Here is the contact information for Death Watch's leader, Pre Vizsla. Please keep it safe." Max glanced around, then theatrically produced a data-storage chip and slid it across the table. "Everything after this—I know nothing."

"You're thoughtful." Gunray took the chip and gave Max a long, meaningful look.

Gunray had planned to dangle the promise of "I'll buy all your tibanna gas, forever" as bait, hoping to get a free assassination job out of the Fieg Consortium's Mandalorians.

If Killian Fieg swallowed that bait and truly sent his Mandalorians to assassinate Queen Padmé Amidala, then Gunray would hold leverage. An accusation like "attempted assassination of the Queen of Naboo" was a weight Killian Fieg could never carry. With that leverage, Gunray could bind the Fieg Consortium to the Trade Federation's side.

One baited promise: eliminate one enemy, and bind one powerful interest—two birds with one stone. And yet this Mandalorian had blocked him cleanly, without leaving a crack.

By a twist of fate, Max hadn't even considered that layer at all.

Ten Mandalorian bodyguards… would they be enough to stop the one lurking in the shadows? Gunray wondered.

...

PS: In Basic, "Pre" happens to resemble the prefix in words like "preeminent" (outstanding, exceptional). So in "Pre Vizsla," the "Pre" can be read not only as a given name, but also as a kind of "title" flavor. The protagonist is Max Vizsla—this can likewise be rendered as "Supreme Vizsla."

🛡️ This is the Way.

══════════════════════════════════════════════

╔════════════════════════════════════════════╗

║ ⚔️ MANDALORIAN CONTRACT BOARD ⚔️ ║

╠════════════════════════════════════════════╣

║ Objective: Launch the story into hyperspace ║

║ Reward: Extra chapters for the crew ║

╠════════════════════════════════════════════╣

║ Review Bounties: ║

║ • ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ = +1 bonus chapter ║

║ • ⭐⭐⭐⭐ + ⭐⭐⭐⭐ = +1 bonus chapter ║

╠════════════════════════════════════════════╣

║ 2–3 lines is enough: ║

║ • "I loved ___ because…" ║

║ • "Best scene so far was…" ║

║ • "My theory is…" ║

╠════════════════════════════════════════════╣

║ Thank you for backing Max Vizsla and the ║

║ rise of Mandalore. ║

╚════════════════════════════════════════════╝

This is the Way.